Trials of Life: part 2, Offspring
by bluegoldrose
Summary: Everyone has secrets, and some are going to surface. Grissom's got a big one he's kept from everyone, CW
1. 1

Late at night, someone breaks into a lower class apartment, and takes an ornately carved, very expensive looking jewelry box along with its contents.

Several hours later, the apartment's owner, a young woman comes home. She sees the open door, and looking inside, she sees that everything is in disarray. She goes down the hall, and on her cell, she calls the police.

* * *

In about an hour, the police and CSI units are there. Sara, Sophia, and Grissom start to look around. Then Grissom stops and accompanies the woman to the station.

"My name is Melanie Grace Collins. Date of birth April 17, 1984. What else do you want?" She asked testily.

"Have patience miss, we're almost done here," the police officer responded. "You walked through the apartment with us, what all was missing?"

"An antique jewelry box, which is worth about 2000 dollars. Inside of the box, is all of my jewelry. Most of it belonged to my mother. All of it is real jewelry, some pieces are antiques, and I couldn't even begin to estimate the value. Some of the pieces are insured though."

"Why do you live in such a poor section of town, if you can afford to live in a better place?"

"It's my choice. My grandparents are rich and keep telling me that I should move. I think I will now, I can't live in a house that 's been broken into. They will be so mad when they hear about this."

"Do you have somewhere to stay for the night?"

"Yeah, I'll stay with my friend Cass. Is that all?"

"For now, yes. We will call you when anything comes up. You will be able to return home tomorrow."

"Thanks."

She gets up and leaves the room. In the hall, Grissom stops her by calling her first name. She turns around and she gives him a weary look.

"What do you want?"

"To talk."

"Fine."

So they go into his office and sit. She looks like she'd rather be elsewhere.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"You're my daughter."

"I know."


	2. 2

Back in Melanie's apartment, Sophia and Sara are nearly finished collecting evidence, when Sara sees a birth certificate. She reads it, and is stunned.

"Hey Sophia, look at this."

"What?"

Sara hands the birth certificate to Sophia, and she reads it. Sophia raises her eyebrows, and looks stunned for a little while.

"It could be a coincidence."

Sara shoots her a yeah-right look, and says, "Right. How many people named Gil Grissom do you think there are? This girl is his daughter."

"It's none of our business."

"I know, but aren't you curious?"

"Yeah, I am."

They both half smile. Sara replaces the paper, and then they finish up, and leave.

* * *

"When I was little, I always asked why I never saw you. She never told me everything until I was ten. You guys divorced when I was barely a year old. I'm glad that we've been able to keep in contact by writing to each other."

"Did you ever find out why we divorced?"

"She told me that what you did was too dangerous for her taste. She wanted to stay with you, but she didn't want me to be fatherless one day."

"I'm not a cop."

"I know, but you carry a gun for protection. She didn't want to hurt you. She said that it was the hardest thing she ever did. She just was too worried that something would happen. She said that sometimes you would become completely absorbed in a case; that it would threaten to destroy you at times. I think she always loved you, even when she died."

"I know you sent word of her death to me, but you never said how she died."

"She had cancer, she died from it in 2001. Then I went to live with my grandparents until I finished school. I write to my grandmother often, and I've met her a few times."

"She has told me that. She has also told me that I should see you and get to know you."

"I believe it."

They both grin. With both hands, she pushes her light brown hair behind her shoulders. She looks up at him, and their eyes lock. Their eyes which are the same color, and reflecting the same emotions. They were both sad and happy, hopeful and regretful, trusting and fearful.

"Do you want to stay at my place tonight? I can drive you there, and when I'm done with my shift in the morning, I can make you breakfast."

"Sure, why not. I'm willing to give this a try if you are."

They both smile again, and then they leave.

* * *

At Catherine's house, Lindsey is getting ready to go to school. They get in the car, and sing along to the radio. Once they reach the school, Lindsey unbuckles, and they lean together and hug each other and give one another a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright Linds, have a good at school, I love you."

"I love you too mom, see ya later."

Catherine watches as Lindsey goes into the school, and then she leaves.


	3. 3

"Wow, it smells really good in here."

Melanie was saying as she walked into Gil's kitchen, still clothed in pajamas, which are obviously his.

"I told you that I would make breakfast."

"I know. Can I help?"

"Sure, do you want to cook the eggs?"

"Alright."

They both smile, and in about twenty minutes, they are ready to eat. So they do so.

"What do you do as a job?"

"I'm an artist, and I write stories and songs. It's funny, my mom always warned me never to become a scientist. I was rather interested in science, so I wasn't too pleased with her request. She was after all, a college forensics teacher. Now though, I've found what I want to do, so it doesn't bother me."

He smirks. "Why did you change your last name?"

"My mother did, shortly after you guys divorced…Does anyone you work with know about me?"

"Only Catherine, but the others may find out because of this case."

"Hmm, I don't mind if they know, I hope you don't."

"I don't. Do you want me to drive you to your apartment? They have probably released it by now."

"Sure."

They finish eating, and then they leave.

* * *

Catherine was finished packing groceries into her car, so she returned the cart and got into her car. As she is driving down the road, she hears an emergency news bulletin over the radio. What it says, makes her world stop.

"We have just gotten a report that there has been a shooting at Meridian Middle School. Several students have been injured, the police have released no further details."

Catherine's jaw drops. She then drives as quickly as possible to the middle school.

Her only thoughts are of Lindsey.

* * *

Nick, Warrick, and Greg are sitting in the break room watching TV, when a similar message comes on the screen.

"That's Lindsey's school!"

All three of them start to look worried at Warrick's statement.

"Warrick, are you certain?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I've taken her there a couple times for Cath."

"Well, let's go. It's our job right?"

"Yeah Greg, it is." Warrick replied.

"Let's take my car."

"Alright Nick, I'll try to get a hold of Catherine." Nick and Warrick start to leave, but Greg is still looking at the TV. So Warrick says, "Hey Greg, are you coming?"

"Oh, yeah. I was just worried about Catherine and Lindsey."

"We all are," Warrick responded.

So the three of them take off for the school in Nick's car. Warrick tries to get a hold of Catherine, but she doesn't pick up. Warrick gets frustrated and curses, Nick tells him to just keep trying.

They reach the school and show their ids to get past the police line. Brass is there and he nods to acknowledge them.

"I was expecting people from dayshift. It's good to see you guys here though. If anything about this can be considered good."

"What happened?" asked Greg.

"Nobody knows for certain, gunfire erupted at 9:30. Nobody knows where it came from; the shooter is still unknown. It may have been a student, but no one is certain. Four students are dead, and seven others have been injured. Some of the classes were being held outside, because the weather is nice. That's why they were out here."

"This is Lindsey's school, do you know if she was outside?" Warrick asked with growing concern.

"Listen guys, it's not good. Have you gotten a hold of Catherine?"

"I'm here, do you know where Lindsey is?" Catherine says as she approaches them. She looks as if she will break down.

"She was injured." Brass replies grimly.

Catherine looks as if she will faint, so Warrick puts his arm around her to steady her. Brass continues, "She is listed in critical condition at the hospital."

"I'll go right away."

"Cath, you're in no condition to drive, I'll take you."

"Thanks Warrick."

So the two of them head off in her car, with him driving. Nick and Greg start on the scene along with dayshift.

* * *

Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I didn't have time.

Thank you to the readers and reviewers.


	4. 4

Gil and Melanie pull into her apartment complex and get out of the car. They smile at each other, and then walk to the door.

"Well, thank you for the ride, and for the place to stay, and for breakfast. I'm glad to meet you."

She extends her hand to him, and he takes it.

"Melanie…"

"Mel."

"Mel, we'll do our best to get back your things."

"I know."

"I want this to work out between us. I'm not certain how to start though."

"We already have started, we just need to work on it…What should I call you?…I mean, it seems odd for me to call you dad, and father is too formal. There's no way I'll call you Grissom, because I can use that last name…"

"Just call me Gil. You weren't raised wit me, so it isn't like it's disrespectful. I'm also uncomfortable being called dad or father."

"Thank you, Gil." The name felt strange coming from her lips.

They are both a little misty eyed and then they hug. They separate, and she goes into the building, and he leaves. She enters her house and jumps, startled. Sara is in her house and is startled too.

"Who are you?"

"Sara Sidle from he crime lab. I'm doing a couple more things as follow up. I'm sorry for frightening you."

"It's ok, I just wasn't expecting someone to be here…It's odd to be a victim of a crime, especially when…"

"When what?"

Melanie notices that her birth certificate has been moved, she raises an eyebrow. Sara looks at her.

"My name was changed the same year I was born…I've never been close to my father…I've written to him to keep in contact…I've always had his picture though…So I've known what he looks like…It's strange to have him investigating my case…"

"Gil Grissom is your father?" Sara asked, somewhat surprised, yet inwardly smiling because she was right.

"Yeah, it's odd though. He told me that the only one of you guys who knew about me was Catherine. It kinda makes me feel like I'm unimportant. I know that he doesn't really know me, but…"

"Don't worry, he cares about you, he's just…distant…from everyone. Try not to take it to heart."

"That's what my mom always said. 'Don't worry about if he cares or not, he cares, he just doesn't show it, it's just his way.' I've always believed her, but I never met him before today…Thank you for listening to me, and for working on my case, it means a lot."

"It's no trouble at all."

They smile at each other uncomfortably, and they nod goodbye and Sara leaves.

* * *

Warrick and Catherine reach the hospital amid a sea of worried families in the emergency room. Hospital aides and police are trying to keep families calm, but it isn't working. Cath and Warrick show their ids to a cop to get into the ER.

It is quieter, but they still have to stay out of the way. Catherine collapses onto a bench. Warrick bends down in front of her and puts his hands on her shoulders. She starts to shake and cry.

"Hey, don't worry Cath. Lindsey's a fighter, she takes after you. At least you know where she is, there are probably many parents who are trying to find their kids still."

"I know…I just…I want to help her…and…I don't even know if she'll live."

Catherine completely breaks down, and she leans against Warrick's chest sobbing. He just holds her as she sobs and shakes. A little while later, a doctor comes down the hall and says, "Willows."

"Yes." Catherine said shakily.

"Are you the mother of Lindsey Willows?"

"Yes, how is she, can I see her?"

"She's recovering, come with me."

Warrick helps Catherine up. Then they follow the doctor down a few halls and into a room where Lindsey is lying on a bed asleep. There are monitors hooked up to her and she is pale. Catherine lets go of Warrick and goes over to Lindsey and takes her hand.

"Thank you." Catherine whispered.

"Any time ma'am. I have to go help other worried parents. Some of whom won't be pleased." Then he leaves.

Warrick stands behind Catherine and rubs her back with one hand.

"You ok now Cath?"

"Yeah." She turns around and looks at him. "Thank you."

They gaze into each other's eyes, and draw closer to each other. Slowly, they lean into each other, and their tips draw closer too. Slowly, cautiously their lips meet. They kiss softly and sweetly and then they separate.

"I'm going to stay with Lindsey until she wakes up. You should go to work and cover for me. Ecklie should know where I am too."

"He already knows. When we were in the car, I called Grissom and Sara, but I couldn't get through. So I called Sophia, and she told Grissom, and he'll tell Ecklie. The three of them are already on a case, and everyone else is at the school. So it looks like I'm the only one left…Don't worry about it, I can handle it. If I need help, I'll beg for Sophia, I could probably get Greg too."

Catherine smiles at him. "That's a very roundabout way for Ecklie to find out where I am. Does Grissom know where Greg is?"

Warrick smiles. "Yeah, he called…We should talk later…about us…ok?"

They both smile. "Alright."

They kiss again. Then he heads off to find a ride. She sits down next to Lindsey and holds her hand.

* * *

"The lab is in total chaos. We only have one person on swing. Everyone else is assigned. New cases are piling up and you're telling me that Catherine isn't going to help." Ecklie was saying, rather frustrated, to Grissom, who is seated in Ecklie's office.

"Her daughter could have died Conrad, she's where she needs to be. Warrick can handle things Greg and Sophia can help him."

"I know, we just haven't had to deal with this much at once before. Really, Catherine can take as much time off as she needs to. Her daughter needs her. I do understand that, even if half of the CSI's here think I'm a jerk."

He looks at Grissom, kind of expecting him to respond, but he doesn't.

"Well, I won't keep you any longer, thank you for telling me about Catherine."

"You're welcome."

Then Grissom leaves the office. As he walks down the hall, Sara catches up to him.

"Hey Gris, we've got a suspect."

So they take off to go get him.


	5. 5

In the hospital, Catherine is still staring at Lindsey. The door opens and Sam Braun comes in. Catherine turns and stares at him, her eyes aflame.

"What do you want here?"

"I came to see how my granddaughter is doing. I was also wondering how you are."

"I'm fine, now that I know Lindsey is safe. She's going to make it. She's strong, she's a fighter."

"That makes her the third generation of women in your family like that. Smart, strong-willed, determined, and beautiful."

"What about the men?"

"One is crooked, in your mind. The other is dead, and you didn't like him much."

"That's not true, I loved Eddie once. And you are a criminal."

"Listen Cate, we don't need to go there. I just came to say that I'll pay for Lindsey's medical expenses."

"You don't have to. I…"

"Look, I know money is tight for you, think of it as a gift. From a father to his daughter and granddaughter...And if she wants to go to another school, I'll pay for that too."

She sighs. "Fine, do what you want."

"Look Cate, I've made some mistakes, everyone does. I wish I could change what's happened, but there's no undo button to life. I want to be in your life, like I was before. Can you try to forgive me, and let me be part of your life?"

"I'll try."

"Thank you, that's all I'm asking for."

They hug, and then Lindsey opens her eyes. They both hug her, as tears run down her face.

* * *

Back at the school. All of the crowds have dissipated, and the families know where their children are. Nick, Greg, and the dayshift have finished up their work, and are starting to pack things up. The only problem is, they don't know who the shooter was. Three theories have developed.

1 the shooter was a student, who ran off

2 it was gang related

3 it was drug related

All of them are good theories, but none can yet be proven. These thoughts were running through the minds of everyone involved.

They return to the lab and start sorting through the evidence.

* * *

In the morgue, David (the assistant coroner) and Dr. Robbins (the coroner) are doing the autopsies on the school victims. They are nearly done with the fourth victim, when two more bodies are brought in. Both of them look even more saddened by it.

"I'm just glad that Lindsey isn't on one of these slabs. She's a lucky girl."

"So is Catherine… It's a shame that these weren't so lucky too."

"Unfortunately David, that's part of our job. Five kids and one teacher dead, five more injured, and no suspects. It's days like this that make me want to retire."

David looks at him oddly, but then they get back to work.

* * *

"I went back to the scene early this morning and I dusted another place that I thought of. I uncovered the prints there. Then I ran them and I came across a match. Ed Spring, he has a record a mile long. Most of his priors are for theft and burglary."

"Good job… Did you hear about what happened at the middle school?"

"Yeah, Greg was telling me what Warrick had said about Lindsey… I'm glad she's alright. It would have destroyed Catherine."

"The hardest thing to lose is someone you love, especially a child…"

"Yeah, but both of you got yours back."

"How did you?…"

"Melanie told me. I was a little surprised, but you make a lot more sense to me now… We're here."

They get out of the car and a cop gets out of another car. They go over to the door of a rundown house. Gil knocks at the door and a man who is clearly intoxicated answers.

"What do you want?"

"Are you Ed Spring?" The Sara asked.

"Who wants to know."

"My name is Gil Grissom this is my colleague from the crime lab Sara Sidle, and this is Officer John Wilkes. We have a couple questions for you, may we come in?"

"Sure."

They enter. The house is a complete mess and there is trash everywhere. Sara starts to look around as Grissom and the cop start to question the suspect.

"Hey, what's she doing?" The suspect asked.

They show him a warrant and he shuts up. Sara wanders into a bedroom and she sees the jewelry box and jewelry. She picks it up, after photographing it, and takes it back to Grissom. Since they are interrogating the suspect they don't notice her. She clears he throat and they look up.

"It makes me curious to know why such a tough guy has such a beautiful jewelry box, not to mention the jewelry."

"I want a lawyer."

"Oh, you'll get one," the cop responded. Then he puts cuffs on the suspect and takes him out.

"That was my mother's gift to my wife… I had forgotten about it."

Grissom gently touches the box. Sara hands it to him, and he opens a drawer, pulling out a ring.

"Her wedding ring?" He nods. "What was her name?"

"Alissa." He sighs slightly.

"You still loved her, didn't you?"

"I did. It's been twenty years though, I should move on."

"When did she die?"

"2001."

"That explains a lot… You don't have to hide your past Grissom… Trust me, it only causes problems later on. You found that out with me losing it, you're finding that out now with Mel… Come on, let's go get her to come and claim this box… You have to return the ring."

He puts it back, and they start to leave, when they notice two guns on a counter. Sara bags them and they go.

* * *

Thanks for the reviews, I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in so long, I was going to Friday, but the site was updating and I couldn't, I hope that these two chapters have made up for it. Plus there's only one chapter left in this section. 


	6. 6

Back at the lab, some people are working on the shooting. Melanie comes and checks on her jewelry, it's all there, but it is not released to her yet, because it is evidence. Ballistics is testing the two guns from Ed Spring's house. They run them to see if they get any hits. They do, and everyone is stunned. They were used in the school shooting.

Grissom and Brass are in the interrogation room with Ed and his attorney. In the viewing room, Nick, Greg, Sara, Warrick, Melanie, Catherine, Sophia, and several others are watching. Catherine is leaning against Warrick, and his arms are around her.

"Would you mind explaining how your gun was used in a school shooting today?" Brass began.

"I can explain all of this," he starts to say, but his attorney interrupts.

"You don't have to speak."

"I'm not going down for a crime I didn't commit! Listen, I stole the jewelry; that's what I do. I don't kill people though, especially not kids!"

"Calm down Mr. Spring. Explain to us then, what happened." Grissom says calmly.

"I was exchanging the jewels for drugs, my dealer didn't want to give me what I thought was fair. I mean, those jewels were real. They had to be worth a few thou, and he didn't want to give me anywhere near that.

So I told him I'd go elsewhere. He wasn't happy about that, so he had one of his guys hold me, while he took my guns and he gave one to his other guy. The school was across the street.

So he says, 'Let this be a lesson to you, if you ever threaten to leave again, this will be you.' And they opened fire. When they finished, they shoved the guns back into my pockets and told me to go.

So I ran home. Then I went home and got as drunk as possible to forget it all. You guys came, as I was sobering up, because I didn't have any liquor left."

"Can you give us names?" Brass questions.

"Yes."

"Good. One more question, how did you know about her jewelry?" Grissom asks.

"We used to date, but she refused to continue our relationship if I continued to use. So she broke it off. I didn't do it to hurt her; she's a nice girl. She was too good for me. I just did it for the cash."

Grissom nods slowly.

Ed is taken by a police officer and led out in handcuffs. Brass and Grissom both follow. Those who were in the observation room, start to come out. Catherine looks much more relieved than she did before. Warrick and Catherine head off together, and the rest of the group starts to walk away.

Melanie however, rushes towards Ed, with tears in her eyes.

"Wait," she says.

He turns around and looks at her. "I forgive you. I wish you would have just asked, I could have gotten you help."

"I know. But it wouldn't have been right. I should have though, it would have prevented the deaths of those kids."

She nods, and then he is led off. Grissom goes over to her, and he gently places a hand on her shoulder. She smiles faintly at the gesture. The only other ones who see this exchange are Sara and Brass.

Brass gives Gil a questioning look, and he mouths, "My daughter."

Brass nods knowingly, he remembers how his relationship with his own daughter Ellie is. Then they each head off their own ways.

* * *

A few days later. 

Sara, Greg, Nick, Sophia, Catherine, Warrick, and Lindsey are in the break room. Lindsey is recovering fairly well, but when she is ready to return to school, she will go to a private one in a better part of the city.

Catherine and Warrick are dating, so they are fairly close together in the room. They are all playing a game. Then Melanie and Grissom enter, they are both grinning.

"Hey guys, I'd like to introduce you to someone. This is Melanie, Mel; she has just been hired to work as a forensic artist. That means she may have the opportunity to work with any of us. Some of you may recognize that she was robbed several days ago, whish is part of the events that happened to Lindsey. Mel is also my daughter."

The guys are all surprised. The females aren't, because they all already knew about her being Gil's daughter. Then they all start welcoming her, and the two of them join the game. All of them are laughing and smiling.

* * *

That's the end of this section, thanks for reading. 

The story will continue though, in Trials of Life: part 3, Amanda.

It's about a serial killer, and one of the CSI's lives is put in danger, so read it please, it's going to be good.

Thanks for reading and reviewing, I really appreciate it.


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